Playstation Mobile servers will shut down in September...

[boog]

Sony has announced that they'll be ending Playstation Mobile in September. It's not a successful 'platform' but it did offer a lot of indie games for Vita and some phones. Some ugly caveats for anyone who has PSM purchased content:

 

- In order to continue playing content that is already on your device after the shutdown, you'll need to re-activate your device via PSM before the shutdown date. So... re-activate now and they'll disable online check-in, otherwise your purchases will stop working once the servers are gone.

- Also, you will no longer be able to re-download any previous purchases after the server shutdown. If your Vita dies, your purchases are forfeited.

 

http://community.us.playstation.com/t5/PlayStation-Mobile-Support/INFO-Update-on-PlayStation-Mobile-PSM/td-p/45023971

 

 

 

There are some quality games on PSM like Tokyo Jungle Mobile, Life of Pixel, etc. Most of them are also available on Android/PC, but some might end up lost forever. This site has a 'top 25' list for PSM in case there's anything that catches your eye before the PSM version disappears:

 

http://www.vitaplayer.co.uk/top-25-playstation-mobile-games/

Edited March 16, 2015 by boog

[spectre51]

Only game I really played on there was OMG Zombies. Really liked that one.

[cimerians]

July 15th is looming. The final PSM game?

 

http://kotaku.com/what-playstation-mobile-meant-to-me-1717530958

[onmode-ky]

Actually, it isn't the last PSM game, though it's one of the last ones. I don't think anything is releasing today--which would be a pretty bad idea--but there was a single new PSM release last week, FolkHarpKenji. However, that's in the Apps section, because [it looks like] it's a musical instrument simulator. Still, even restricting to games, a few titles came after Oh, Deer! Alpha, the last ones being a pair of Japanese games that hit the PSM Store on June 30th.

 

In any case, releasing a $7.99 musical instrument in the last week of the service's life isn't all that crazy when compared to what some other developers have done. Thornbury Software put a $30 adventure (?) game in the Store as their first PSM game 1 month ago, and then followed it up with a $14.99 archery range game and a $9.49 gun range game. All of them really look pretty terrible, too, like a bunch of generic Unity assets with a slide show frame rate (they were ported from PC, with similar pricing). And then there's the guy (listed as publisher "B.P." in the Store) who actually raised all his games' prices in the last month--but then again, his were among the worst PSM games, overpriced and likely with dismal sales, so the line of thinking might have been "If just one person buys, it has to really count!" Most price changes in the last month have been price drops, thankfully.

 

I'm curious how well Hamster Corporation's Appli Archives titles have sold. Just as Hamster has the Arcade Archives series on the PS4, they have (had) the Appli Archives on PSM, collections of old Japanese feature phone games. Some of them are even text-heavy, untranslated RPGs and strategy war games. Must be a hard sell outside the Japanese PSM Store. Impressively, there have been 51 (!) Appli Archives releases, 10% of the 507 games which the Store (the US edition, at least) will close with (+ 63 non-game apps, too). Would have been a bigger number if certain titles hadn't been removed earlier, for whatever reason.

 

Anyway, while there are a few hours left, browse the Store and pick up a few of the titles at farewell prices, if they catch your eye. Just keep in mind: anything that deactivates your PSV from PSM after September 10th will kill your ability to ever run those games again. This includes removing or switching your memory card (because that does a database rebuild, which deactivates PSM). Be careful! Maybe just go for particularly cheap titles, some of which really are a steal at $0.49.

 

onmode-ky

 

P.S. I feel a bit silly writing about bad PSM games (I don't mean the Appli Archives--or at least not all of them) as it's about to close, so here are some PSM recommendations: anything by FuturLab (their PSM games were among the program's first, so scroll waaaaay down in the genre listings); anything by Thomas Hopper (multiple genres) and Nostatic Software (mostly Adventure section), both of whom have their games very cheap now; Life of Pixel, which I've mentioned here at AtariAge a few times, in the Action section; Sword of Rapier, a freemium action RPG with a nifty combo system (trial portion runs up to the first boss); Rock Boshers DX--well, maybe go for the PSV-native Director's Cut, but still, very fun Spectrum-graphics twin-stick shooter in the Arcade section; Chiebura, a very unique 2D shooter (Shooter section) with a grappling hook mechanic; Miko Gakkou Monogatari ("Story of a Shrine Maiden School"), of which there is a visual novel episode in the Adventure section and a new polygon-graphics episode in the RPG section, plus an action rhythm game in the Action section; A Healer Only Lives Twice, in the Strategy section, in which you manage the responsibilities of a white mage keeping its warrior alive as they make their way through a dungeon; Curse of the Crescent Isle DX, a platformer in the Action section in the style of Monster World; and yes, Oh, Deer! Alpha does look very cool, and it's only 49 cents.

[Austin]

Gun Commando was one of the only PSM games I purchased and it works and looks nice on the PS TV. It's an old-school style FPS akin to games like Wolfenstein 3D. I'll be a little sad if I can't play it anymore on the PS TV.

[boog]

Thanks for all the info onmode-ky! Disappointing to see that swapping the memory card will disable PSM activation. I was planning to buy another 16GB card once mine is full and just swap between them as needed. Hopefully Sony can offer permanent PSM activation before September... maybe a firmware update or something.

 

I ended up making a few more last minute purchases at under $1 each. Gunhouse, Console Saga, Out of Mind, Super Tank Poker, and Chiebura. Thanks for the suggestions.

 

 

It's a little sad to browse through so many games that are about to disappear forever. Some of the top PSM exclusives have migrated to enhanced Vita versions (Switch Galaxy, Aqua Kitty) and others are now available on Wii U/PC/Android (Life of Pixel, Rymdkapsel, Cytus) but many other exclusives will just vanish. Most of them are junk, but it's still a shame to see an entire ecosystem of 500+ games disappear. Hooray for digital distribution!

Edited July 15, 2015 by boog

[Metal Jesus]

Man... just another reason why I wish there were physical retail versions of some of these games.. It just sucks when stuff like this happens. It feels like they could disappear forever..

[cimerians]

Man... just another reason why I wish there were physical retail versions of some of these games.. It just sucks when stuff like this happens. It feels like they could disappear forever..

 

 

At some point we'll be collecting consoles that have games on them: "This machine has P.T. and this one here has the long gone After Burner Climax...."

[Centurion]

Man... just another reason why I wish there were physical retail versions of some of these games.. It just sucks when stuff like this happens. It feels like they could disappear forever..

Exactly!

[onmode-ky]

Short version of the below: the PSM Store is still open for business. Read on for details. . . .

 

The PSM Store actually ended up closing around midnight the next day, on the border between 07/16 and 07/17. From the closure onward, if you clicked on the PlayStation Mobile tab of the PSV's PS Store, you got a "We're closed" page. BUT, the PSM Store isn't really closed. I realized this because I was in fact inside it at the time the closure occurred--that is, my PSV had its PS Store program open, and I was viewing things inside the PSM Store. Transient error messages (along the lines of "This content may not be available yet or is no longer available") started popping up when I switched to different genre sections in the Store, and I confirmed then that the PSM Store was closed by trying to go into it from my PlayStation TV. Meanwhile, on my PSV, I could still browse the games, open them up, click the Buy button. . . . A glitch?

 

Hours later, with no change in the status of the Store as viewed from my PSV, I realized what was going on. Only the Store's front doors are closed; the PSM Store itself is still open for business, and likely will remain so until the entire service's termination in September. Around the Web, some PSM developers have links which, when clicked on from a PSV's or PSTV's Web browser, open up the system's PS Store program directly at the entry for a specific game. Those hyperlinks still work! You can still use those links to purchase games and download previously purchased PSM games. The reason they work is because, again, the Store itself remains open, with only the entrance closed shut. Sony's announcement of PSM's closure had vaguely said that games could still be purchased after July 15th via Web browser, and this is what that meant. It has to specifically be a PSV or PSTV browser, though, so that the Store will open to the given game.

 

Here's an example of the hyperlinks I mean: http://p0.dl.playstation.net/p0/psns/psnschk.htm?a=psns%3Abrowse%3Fproduct%3DEM0103-NPOA00157_00-0000000000000000&type=psm. If you click on that from a computer Web browser, it leads to a generic info page. If you click on that link from the Web browser of a PSV or PSTV, you'll find yourself inside the PSM Store, at the page for Console Saga, by TACS Games (and you can't go to other parts of the PSM Store). Developers who have these p0.dl.playstation.net links often have them as an image link, where the image is a banner that says, "Download now on PlayStation Store," white text on a black background with a PSN blue shopping bag on the left (see TACSGames.com, where I got the above link). But, they can also just be plain text hyperlinks, as they are at developer Xinoro's website, or other image links, as at the Japanese "PSM Last Run" collaborative promo site (note: a few of the games listed there are Japan-only).

 

So, if you can find the Store download links for whatever PSM games you're interested in, you're all set. The problem is finding the links. It seems like most PSM devs don't even know about them. All you need to know from a dev, though, is their developer ID and their game ID. For example, in the link above, "EM0103" was TACS Games' developer ID, and "NPOA00157" was Console Saga's game ID. Fill in the blanks with the right combo, and that should work:

 

p0.dl.playstation.net/p0/psns/psnschk.htm?a=psns%3Abrowse%3Fproduct%3D[dev_id]-[game_id]_00-0000000000000000&type=psm

 

For a good while, having been inside the PSM Store when it closed, I was able to continue browsing without need for those links, probably one of few people in the world in that situation. Had I never left the PSM section or closed the Store program, I think I would have been able to stay in there all the way to September . . . but unfortunately, my system's Content Manager froze up during a game transfer today, and I had to power cycle the PSV to recover. T_T So, no more wandering around in the deserted Store anymore.

 

onmode-ky

[onmode-ky]

Regarding the hyperlinks mentioned above, I started a thread at the PSPMinis.com forum, "PS Mobile Purchasing Links (still viable post-closure, until service shutdown)," with a few. There are over a hundred at the moment, which is roughly 20% of the full PSM library. Better than nothing, at least. If you view the thread in the PSV or PSTV Web browser and click on a link, the PS Store application will open up straight to that game/app. You'll be able to Buy, Download, or do nothing, depending on whether you own that particular title and if it's available in your territory. The links should stay operative until the September 10th service termination date.

 

onmode-ky

[Andromeda Stardust]

This is why digital distribution sucks. PS Vita has been dead to the gaming community for some time, but as far as I know, Game Stop and Best Buy still sell their games. And PS3 is still open for business in the forseeable future...

[onmode-ky]

Two posts up, I mentioned that I'd started a discussion topic at PSPMinis.com dedicated to seeking out as many PS Mobile games' direct access links in the Store as possible, since they were the only way to buy PSM games (until September 10th) with the Store's front doors now closed. New additions grew the thread but made it disorganized, so it has now evolved into a PSPMinis.com blog post that I can update and keep in order:

 

The PlayStation Mobile Store "Reborn"--A List of Direct Game Purchase/Download Links

 

It currently has 286 links, meaning roughly half of all PSM games ever released, hence the "Store 'Reborn'" moniker. So, if a PSM game caught your attention only recently, there's a good chance you'll be able to buy it from here (via your Vita/PSTV browser, not a PC/Mac browser). Or, if you want to re-download your old PSM purchases but can't stand the loading time of the PSM download list, this list is handy for that, too.

 

The main organizational method of the list is "grouped by publisher/developer, who are alphabetically ordered," but if you don't remember/know who made the title you're looking for, try this re-ordering of the list further down in the same post:

 

The "PSM Store 'Reborn'" list alphabetically ordered by game title

 

I'd like to call attention to the fact that YOU--yes, YOU--can help us grow the list if you have a PSM title that is not already in the list. The instructions to do so are here, at the bottom of the post (in short, it involves looking at your games library from the SonyEntertainmentNetwork.com account management site). If you don't feel like opening an account at the PSPMinis.com forum to post your contributions, I'll be happy to take them here in this AA thread, too.

 

As the title of this thread says, PSM servers will shut down in September. It's not September yet, so take advantage of that list to pick up the titles you missed back when the Store doors were open. A final Buy before the final 'Bye!

 

onmode-ky

[onmode-ky]

The PlayStation Mobile Store "Reborn" blog post I maintain now has over 400 PSM titles represented, almost all available to buy (varies by region) via the PSV or PSTV Web browser. By my estimates, that's roughly 60% of all PSM titles ever released, across all regions worldwide.

 

It is now 7 days before PlayStation Mobile services terminate entirely. One final week to browse the PSM Store (through the links in the blog post, I mean, since there's been no other way since July 16th) and see if there's anything in the mostly indie selection that tickles your fancy. Whatever you get, make sure you get your fill of it before you remove or swap out your memory card, as that forces a database rebuild in your system; as I noted earlier in this thread, a database rebuild deactivates PSM from your system, and there will be no way to reactivate PSM on your system after the service goes extinct next week. Yes, that really does suck, but if you're a single-card user anyway, it won't have much effect on you. Also, keep in mind that unlike normal PSN games, you won't be able to re-download PSM games from Sony's servers after the service terminates--you'll have to make your own backup via Content Manager if you plan to remove a PSM game from your card to make space.

 

Restrictions aside, there are some nifty experiences to be had for (mostly) cheap in the PSM selection. Check them out one last time before they run out of Continues. Give a nod (i.e., money) to the devs whose PSM work earns your approval; it will help them drown the sorrows of having their games disappear.

 

onmode-ky

[onmode-ky]

Does anyone here own a PSM game made by Simone Serra, known here at AtariAge as the homebrewer seemo? He released a port of his 2600 game Palomino as a PSM game, and he also made the PSM games Atlas, ega, and Tribute. I'd like to get his games added into the PSM Store "Reborn" blog post that I manage at PSPMinis.com, so that people can buy them again--until PSM goes bye-bye on September 10th, anyway--but I haven't been able to find the PSV-use links that would enable that.

 

A few weeks ago, before I'd confirmed that PSM Simone Serra and AtariAge seemo were one and the same, I sent him a PM here asking if he were the same guy. Unfortunately, seemo hasn't logged in at AtariAge since mid-July, and I got no response. Earlier today, I posted in the Homebrew Discussion subforum's thread for Palomino 2600, asking for help contacting seemo. Since I've had no responses there yet, and as we're quickly running out of time for having seemo's PSM games bought by a few more players, I'm posting one more call for aid, this time in a PSM thread.

 

If someone out there does have a Simone Serra PSM game, I'd like you to do this: log into your PSN ID at account.sonyentertainmentnetwork.com; go to your Media tab; navigate your purchases until you find one of seemo's games; click on the game's title/icon; copy the URL of the resulting page and post it here in this thread. The URL includes the game's product ID, which in turn includes seemo's PSM dev ID (EM####) and the game's individual ID (NPOA#####). All I really need is his dev ID, because once I have that, I should be able to locate the game IDs based on when the games were released in relation to the game IDs I already have in the PSPMinis list of 400+ PSM links. With the dev ID and the game IDs, I can build the links which, if clicked on in the PSV Web browser, open the PS Store app to the games' buy/download pages.

 

So, can anyone help?

 

onmode-ky

 

P.S. This is my 666th AtariAge post. When I wrote my 665th post, the above-mentioned request in the Homebrew Discussions subforum, I joked that maybe my post #666 ought to go in the Jaguar subforum. Well, here's #666, and it's not a joke post. But then again, maybe it's a joke to try to help a guy get a measly 2 days of sales for his games. . . .

[boog]

Looks like Playstation Mobile is dead and gone.

 

 

Big Thanks! to onmode-ky for all the work on that PSPminis.com thread and for sharing the info here. Hope everyone is able to preserve their PSM purchases for a LONG time.

[onmode-ky]

You're welcome, boog, and I hope the links and info we had over at PSPMinis.com were helpful. In the end, I think the effect we had on actual PSM sales in the post-July period was only a drop in the bucket (or worse) for the developers, but if we enabled some players to discover a few enjoyable experiences, that's a pretty good result, too. Granted, we may have also enabled some players to discover a few terrible experiences, but let's not dwell on that.

 

A few days ago, Polygon continued their PlayStation Mobile Treasures video series with a look at Super Skull Smash GO!, a game by TACS Games (Thomas Hopper) which was in the PSPMinis.com list, and a game which I personally have and have beaten. It's not a bad puzzle platformer at all, as the video entertainingly shows--but man, Nick is not very good with it.

 

onmode-ky

[cimerians]

....I have to add that I also enjoyed Mononoke Slashdown.

 

So is this the first time in history (other than the copies developers have) that these games now exist only on people's hardware? (Other than emulation, if these games have been ripped and posted out there)

 

Museums in the future will have consoles with games tied to them.

[onmode-ky]

I got Mononoke Slashdown back when it was a freebie in December 2013, but I only played it for the first time early last week. A few days later, I had beaten it, despite my reaction to it being bad enough that I wrote a long rant against the game's combat and ranking systems at the PSPMinis.com forum. Nevertheless, the game does admittedly have great visuals and sound--and equally great Engrish! By the way, a bit of trivia gleaned from the developer comments at the Japanese version of FK Digital's Mononoke Slashdown website: their PSM project started out as a side-scrolling shooter starring a "Birdman" character, before it morphed into the side-view brawler that is Mononoke Slashdown.

 

Another title I'd like to mention right now: in the final hours of PSM availability, I made one last purchase, which included the "highangle sneaking action" game Behind You. After playing it (and replaying it until I got the full 100 points for every main and challenge mission), I came to the conclusion that if you didn't get this game while PSM was still around, you missed out on some pretty awesome MGS-like action. Also among the most well done, and smoothest, 3D graphics in PSM.

 

As for whether this is the first time in history when (network-distributed, non-MMO) games now only exist on buyers' hardware, I think the answer is no if you include games from the first generations of cell phones. I mean, there's no way to play any of those now, right? Also, I believe there were some very early network-distributed console games, from before the turn of the millennium.

 

onmode-ky

[SynMonger]

 

 

At some point we'll be collecting consoles that have games on them: "This machine has P.T. and this one here has the long gone After Burner Climax...."

I've got P.T. on my ps4... digital hoarding at its finest. I wonder what it'll go for in a few years?

[boog]

Sony has extended the device activation period for PSM purchases. They admitted that swapping memory cards will deactivate your PSM purchases and they will now reactivate your device when you launch a PSM game while the device is online. BUT this activation option will end in Feb. 2016.

 

http://community.us.playstation.com/t5/Games-Services/INFO-Update-on-PlayStation-Mobile-PSM/td-p/45023971

 

 

Why can't they just permanently activate any device that has prior PSM purchases??

[onmode-ky]

Well, if you activate by February 29th, your PSM device should be permanently activated, barring any explicit deactivation you perform. The bit about having to connect to the network if you launch a PSM title after switching memory cards is not about device activation (because the new method they're using is supposed to mean that memory card switching no longer causes deactivation) and should be valid beyond the February date.

 

Do you mean "Why can't they permanently have in place a method to activate any device that has prior PSM purchases?" As a wild guess, maybe it's because the server that performs device activation uses a URL that Sony doesn't want to have to keep registered indefinitely? Or the database of device activations is taking up resources that could be better used by something still generating revenue? I imagine there's always a continuing cost somewhere that compels deadlines like this when it comes to online support services closing down.

 

As long as this topic is active again, I'll list here some of my final PSM purchases which I've gotten around to playing in recent weeks and enjoyed:

 

Curse of the Crescent Isle DX - 16-bit-style platformer where you use the enemies' abilities to make your way through the levels. Has a look not unlike Monster World IV. A major reworking of an XBLIG release, DX was first released on PSM and is now also on Steam and itch.io.

 

GALATEA - Deep sea exploration mixed with shooting combat, polygon graphics in a from-the-side viewpoint. Impressive environment size, serving well the story where you're trying to uncover the ruins of lost civilizations. I liked the ending a lot. Also, I uploaded a set of maps for the game to my website. This was a PSM exclusive.

 

Eufloria Adventures - You play as a seedling from the Eufloria universe sent out to find lost colonies of your own Mother Tree and conquer colonies of other Trees. Exploration mixed with indirectly controlled combat (reminiscent of its RTS parent's roots) in a top-down view of a lushly designed world. This was a PSM exclusive.

 

onmode-ky

[Mord]

Why can't they just permanently activate any device that has prior PSM purchases??

 

Probably makes it harder for them to re-sell you stuff you already bought that way.

[boog]

So... if I launch a PSM game on each of my devices they're now activated permanently? I saw a post on CAG claiming that you still can't swap memory cards without going online again to reactivate.

 

https://www.cheapassgamer.com/topic/348804-psn-weekly-deals-113-ubisoft-atlus-and-ps-specials-sales-10-trails-in-the-sky-14-volume/page-221?do=findComment&comment=13009906

[cimerians]

Curse of the Crescent Isle DX - 16-bit-style platformer where you use the enemies' abilities to make your way through the levels. Has a look not unlike Monster World IV. A major reworking of an XBLIG release, DX was first released on PSM and is now also on Steam and itch.io.

 

GALATEA - Deep sea exploration mixed with shooting combat, polygon graphics in a from-the-side viewpoint. Impressive environment size, serving well the story where you're trying to uncover the ruins of lost civilizations. I liked the ending a lot. Also, I uploaded a set of maps for the game to my website. This was a PSM exclusive.

 

Eufloria Adventures - You play as a seedling from the Eufloria universe sent out to find lost colonies of your own Mother Tree and conquer colonies of other Trees. Exploration mixed with indirectly controlled combat (reminiscent of its RTS parent's roots) in a top-down view of a lushly designed world. This was a PSM exclusive.

 

onmode-ky

 

 

Damnit these games look pretty good. Thanks, I added Crescent Isle to my Steam wishlist. The others I guess are gone forever. I did a little bit of searching for PC versions but couldn't find anything.